XML Import: Ignore invalid characters?

[jeffcoleky]

I mapped an xml table from craigslist using Excel 2010 so I can stay up to date with posts that are created.

It worked great for several days but now I am no longer able to refresh the data due to an error:

"An XML error has occurred. Please correct the problem and try again."
"Click the Details button ..."

Details:

Error Code: -1072896760
URL: <not-supplied>
Reason: An invalid character was found in text content.
Line: 135
Column: 7
File offset: 8190

Here is a snippet from the line giving the error:

3 beds· 2 baths· 1,950 sqft Beautiful setting & lawn with mature trees and country views.

So it's quite clear it's the "·" Character causing this problem.

Is there a way around this? I could always contact the original poster and ask them to change the text and refresh again, but that seems ridiculous. Besides, yesterday, the post giving the error was different than it was today.

I posted on the craigslist tech support and they said it was likely an invalid character. Thanks for the help, right? Well, they can't change it on their end so i'll have to find a way around this.

I considered just downloading the XML file using a macro, search and replace specific invalid characters, then import from a local file. Is this the best way to do this?

PS. Here is the URL for the XML Data: </not-supplied>http://louisville.craigslist.org/search/reo?format=rss

 

[jeffcoleky]

One more thing to add: When I download and import the XML document as a local file (instead of directly from the web), it lets me create the XML Table, but won't let me import either.

 

[lotsbg]

did you find a work around for this, as I have the same issue